Grown-Up Orphans
by David Ginsberg
Summary: Shawn and Topanga deal with the fallout of their parents' decisions while the Matthews prepare for a new addition to the family. Sequel to Ain't College Great?
1. Chapter 1

Brett McGuire watched the light snowfall out the window of his sister Rachel's car as she explained the Christmas itinerary to their parents. "So for Christmas Eve we're invited over for dinner at the Matthews' house, and we can go to Mass after if you feel like you need to go to church."

"The Matthews are Jack's roommate's family?" Mr. McGuire confirmed.

"Right and then Christmas Day we'll go ice skating…"

"I don't know how to ice-skate," Mrs. McGuire objected.

"Well, maybe the four of us can do something else, but it's an important tradition for Jack and Shawn."

"And going to church isn't?"

"I'd like to try ice skating," Brett interjected, having seen the opportunity to get out of going to church.

Rachel was beginning to think that Jack was right to be nervous about meeting her parents. At least this meeting would be on her turf; her Dad's plan to preserve her virginity in high school had been to sit on the porch polishing his shotgun whenever a date came to pick her up – and it had worked.

"After that Mom can help me in the kitchen and then Chet's coming for Christmas Dinner."

"Who's Chet?"

Rachel sighed. She hadn't been looking forward to answering this question. "Chet is Jack's biological father."

"Oh, the drunkard."

"Well, he just joined AA and Jack's hoping to patch things up. It's a very difficult thing for all of them, and I'm just trying to be supportive."

Mr. McGuire harrumphed but didn't say anything more.

When they got to the apartment, Shawn and Jack helped them unload their luggage. Fortunately, Mr. McGuire didn't say anything about Shawn's recently acquired cartilage piercing. Brett thought it looked cool.

They dumped Brett's suitcase in Rachel's living room, where he'd be sleeping on the couch, and started unloading his parents' things in the room that Eric had vacated for them.

Brett looked up to see an oversized poster of a young man with a disturbingly intense look on his face.

"Who's that?"

Shawn sighed. "That's Eric, he said he was going to take this down." Brett couldn't help admiring Shawn from behind as he stretched to pull the poster down.

Once they'd had dinner and Mr. McGuire had finished intimidating Jack for the night everyone went to bed, leaving Brett and Rachel alone in her apartment. Brett was glad for the privacy, since Rachel was the only person he'd told he was gay.

"So Shawn's cute," he said as she got a glass of water from the fridge.

Rachel took a drink. "You're barking up the wrong tree. One, he's three years older than you, and two he's 100 percent straight."

"Hey, a boy can dream."

Rachel laughed, "we've got to get Mom and Dad to let you come up for the summer."


	2. Chapter 2

Chet hadn't shown up for Christmas dinner, so they went ahead and ate as soon as Shawn and Jack got back from ice skating. The dinner started out mildly awkward, with Mr. McGuire using it as an opportunity to interrogate Jack about his financial prospects, and Rachel attempting to run interference on his behalf.

"So this website you're running…"

"Actually, I just sold it." Jack explained.

"Jack made 40 million dollars before taxes," Rachel explained.

"Well, that is impressive," Mr. McGuire admitted.

They were interrupted by a knock on the door. Rachel opened it to find Chet standing in the hallway, reeking of booze.

Rachel feigned enthusiasm. "You made it!" She steered Chet to the seat next to Shawn, as far away from her parents as possible.

"I thought you joined AA," Shawn hissed as Chet sat down.

"Huh, those sons of bitches," Chet grumbled loudly enough for the whole room to hear him. "No, I gave up on that, Slim Jim." He saw that the table had been set with water and pulled a flask from his pocket.

"This here's my boy Shawnie," he continued, "he's got himself a big fancy job in advertising. Helped Jack out with the commercials for his website. I took one look at that thing and said 'Boy, if you want people to pay money for that shit, you're going to need a Hunter to sell it to 'em.' And sure enough, he did."

"Indeed," Mr. McGuire said.

"You see, we Hunters…" Chet continued until Rachel interrupted him. "Um, Shawn, Jack, can you guys help me in the kitchen with something?"

When they got out of earshot Rachel whispered "I thought you said he was in AA."

"He was," Jack objected, "when I talked to him yesterday he was stone cold sober."

"It must be something I did," Shawn sighed.

Jack tried to reassure him. "No, it wasn't you…"

"Look," Rachael said, "for now we just need to get him away from my parents."

"I can take him to Cory's house," Shawn volunteered.


	3. Chapter 3

Meanwhile, at Cory's house, Eric had been given very strict instructions not to mention pregnancy, or anything else that would embarrass Cory, while Topanga's parents were over for Christmas. Eric thought they were the ones who should have been embarrassed, as they spent the whole time bickering.

"What's up with Topanga's parents?" Eric asked as they did the dishes.

"I'm not supposed to say."

"Oh, c'mon. You can tell me."

"Look, Topanga's been through a lot this semester, between Shawn and that creepy professor."

"Oh, yeah. How'd she end up doing in that class?"

"Shawn's boss talked UPenn into giving her an A-."

"How'd he do that?"

"Have you ever been past Keller Hall?"

"Yeah."

"That's how."

The doorbell rang. "That must be Shawn." Cory went to answer the door and found Shawn standing outside with an obviously drunk Chet.

"Ummm…hope you don't mind my Dad coming," Shawn said, followed by a nervous laugh.

"Um, not at all, Topanga's parents are here too."

Chet stumbled into the living room and imposed himself on Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence while Cory dragged Shawn into the kitchen.

"What's going on with your Dad? I thought he was in AA."

"I don't know I must have done something."

Cory sighed "This isn't _your_ fault."

"Well, do you want me to take him back home?"

"You brought him here because of Rachel's parents, didn't you?"

"Yeah."

"Ok, I'll explain to my parents."

Cory went into the living room and summoned his parents into the kitchen, while Shawn sat next to Chet, who was regaling the Lawrences with one of his tall tales. Eric thought that disliking him might have been the first thing they'd agreed on all night.

Mr. and Mrs. Matthews made forced small talk using the conversation topics Cory had provided (bridges, patio furniture, peaches, and slip covers) while Chet interjected with garbled descriptions of ad campaigns Shawn had come up with between taking swigs from his flask.

After what felt like hours, Mr. Feeny arrived for his annual reading of _A Christmas Carol._ By the time he got to the Ghost of Christmas Past, he had to talk over Chet's loud snoring. Sensing that he hadn't exactly arrived at a moment of Christmas cheer, Feeny skipped over a few of the less plot-relevant chapters.

When he'd finished Shawn stood up and started trying to wake his father. It proved to be a futile effort, so Shawn put Chet's arm around his shoulder and began trying to drag him out of the house.

"Um, Shawn, your dad can stay here for the night if that'd work better," Alan offered.

"Thanks, Mr. Matthews, but Dad can be a little grumpy in the mornings." Everyone in the room knew exactly what 'grumpy' was a euphemism for. "I don't want you to have to deal with that over Christmas."

"It shouldn't be your responsibility to deal with it," Alan said firmly. "I'll tell you what. You can stay here with Cory and drive him back in the morning.

"OK, thanks." Shawn tenderly lay his father down on the couch and pulled a blanket over him.


	4. Chapter 4

Rachel came by the apartment after her last class of the first day of the new semester. Shawn was sitting in the living room looking frustrated and playing with a sock puppet.

"What is that thing?" Rachel asked.

"This," Shawn sighed, "is the mascot for one of my new dot-com clients."

"What do they sell?"

"Pet food."

"Why would you want to buy pet food online?"

"If I knew that, I would have a slogan by now. They've been giving me the internet companies ever since the IPO and each one makes less sense than the last."

"I dunno, never made sense to me. Aren't you at all worried its going to turn out to be a flop?"

Shawn shrugged. "Not my problem anymore. I sold all my shares and bought a Ferrari and an apartment complex in Fort Lauderdale."

"The blue one out front?"

"That's the one. Soooo…you wanted to talk to Jack?"

"Yeah," Rachel admitted.

"About my Dad?"

"Partially."

Shawn stood up. "Don't get mad at Jack. It's all my fault; I insisted on inviting him…"

"I'm not mad, but…has anyone told you that you have self-esteem issues?"

" _Everyone_ tells me that."

Eric burst through the door. "Someone parked a Ferrari out front!"

"That's mine." Shawn replied.

"Oh, cool car."

"Thanks. Hey, can you think of a reason for people to buy pet food online?"

Eric shrugged. "Pets can't drive."

Shawn contemplated the sock puppet for a moment. "Sure, we'll go with that."


	5. Chapter 5

There was one person in the world Chet Hunter thought might be sympathetic to his problem; but he wasn't answering his phone, and Chet didn't want to risk running in to Alan Matthews at his house. He remembered Shawn mentioning that he'd taken a job at Pennbrook University. Chet hung out in the student union, hustling undergraduates at the pool table, until he spied George Feeny at a table.

Chet walked over and sat down across from him. "George!"

Feeny put down his paper and gave Chet a withering look. "That's Mr. Feeny to you."

Chet looked down at his coffee. "You know, you were the only teacher who was ever nice to me."

"I was entirely too lenient. Now is this purely a social call or did you want to speak to me about something?"

Chet sighed. "I want to do right by Shawn."

"Why don't we discuss this in my office."

When they got to the office, Feeny closed the door and sat down across from Chet at his desk. "If you want to do the right thing by your son, then you'll leave Philadelphia, send him a Christmas and birthday card every year, and never speak to him again."

That wasn't the answer Chet had been looking for. "I can't do that, the boy needs a relationship with his father."

"No, you need him. You know, for a very long time you were my greatest regret as a teacher. I felt that in some way I'd failed you. Until the day Shawn Hunter showed up in my sixth grade class, and I saw what you'd done to him. You were given the most precious gift," Feeny's voice broke, "one that I was never given, and you squandered it."

"I never meant to hurt him."

"You never thought of anyone but yourself. Any minor irritation you resolved with your fists, and you never gave a damn about the people who loved you. I don't think you even noticed the effect you had on Shawn."

"What effect?"

"He was a _child_ , Chester. There was no way he could understand why you hurt him, so he made sense of it the only way a child can and he blamed himself. In his heart he still blames himself, for everything you've done to him. Do you have any idea how many times we thought we were going to lose him?"

"No."

Feeny could see that he had gotten through and softened the tone of his voice, as a tear rolled down his face. "Shawn is an incredible young man, but he'll never realize that if he continues having to rationalize your behavior. The best possible thing for him is to be free of you."

Chet sighed and stood up. "I guess you're right."


	6. Chapter 6

Shawn had been in a sour mood ever since Christmas, so Cory and Jack were doing his best to cheer him up. Coming from Cory, this felt a little like being stalked.

"Hey, let's get some coffee before class, ok."

Shawn didn't really need the coffee, but he ordered a latte anyway, although he insisted on paying for it over Jack's objections. Cory was lured away almost immediately by Topanga, leaving Shawn and Jack alone.

Somehow in the past month, their conversations had started to become forced. "So, um…how are your classes going?" Jack ventured.

"Remember that shrink you made me see my junior year of high school?"

"Yeah, Dr. Martin."

"I have her for my intro psych class. I didn't recognize the name until I actually saw her."

"Yikes, can you drop the class?"

"It's for the distribution requirement. I don't _think_ she recognizes me."

They were interrupted by, of all people, Chet.

"What brings _you_ here?" Jack asked suspiciously.

"I'm so proud I've got two boys in college, I figured I'd get you to give me the official college tour, starting with that building where they torture the mice. Then, tonight, we'll have dinner at Steak 'n' Suds. On me, of course."

Chet showed up, sober, to the apartment, and insisted on Rachel taking a picture of him with his sons. After a couple rounds of negotiation, Jack and Shawn ended up splitting the bill for dinner; and Chet may have had just a little bit too much wine. As the waitress left with Jack's credit card, he cleared his throat. "Boys, the reason I took you out here is that I have something to say. I spoke with Mr. Feeny the other day and he thinks it would be better for the both of ya, 'specially Shawn, if I wasn't around as much anymore. So I've taken a job in Las Vegas, dealing black jack. I'll be leaving Monday."

Shawn looked around to make sure the waitress was gone, and then stated his objection. "But I need you. I, I'm really screwed up…it's like I'm watching myself do these things that I hate, and I can't stop them. Why couldn't you stick around? Aren't I good enough for you?"

"No, Shawn it's not that. I wasn't good enough for you. I'm sorry I didn't do right by you, son. I'm a lousy father."

Chet stood up, and, before his sons could see him cry, ran out of the room.


	7. Chapter 7

Topanga came over after Cory got back from church on Sunday afternoon.

"So the counselor thinks that you and I should hold off on moving in together next semester."

Cory frowned. "Why does she think that?"

"Well, we've discussed my tendency to use our relationship as a foil to my parents, and she thinks that subconsciously, I might be trying to set up a perfect relationship to replace theirs."

"Would that be the worst thing in the world?"

"I just don't want to go into this for the wrong reasons. You, on the other hand, just don't want to have to deal with your roommate anymore." Topanga picked up an empty container of Chinese food for demonstration.

"Ok, maybe you're right."

Just then, the phone rang. Topanga sat on the bed as Cory answered it. He didn't talk much, and by the look on his face Topanga could tell it wasn't good news. After a couple of minutes, he put the phone down.

"What's wrong, sweetie?" Topanga asked.

"Shawn's father had a heart attack."

When they got to the hospital, Shawn, Jack, Rachel, Mr. Feeny, and the Matthews were in the waiting room. Cory went straight over to Shawn.

"Shawn, I'm so sorry."

Shawn smiled weakly. "You know, this is probably going to sound crazy, but maybe this whole ordeal is a blessing in disguise."

"Why would you say that?" Jack asked nervously.

"He's gonna have to slow down, right? So maybe he'll stick around for a while."

Jack sighed, "Shawn, the second he gets out of here, he's going straight to Vegas."

"Don't say that, 'cause you don't know."

"I know. I know him."

"Well I _am_ him."

"You're not like him."

"Yes I am, why do I screw things up for everybody in my life? I'm exactly like him."

"Shawn, you have no idea what he's like."

"Do you? When you were a little kid, did you sit next to him while he watched TV all night long, hoping that he'd say something to you? Did you ever once clean up after him when he came home drunk? And when he didn't come home at all, did you lay in bed wondering what you did to drive him away? And when he was gone, did you walk around and make believe that everything was okay, when inside it was tearing you apart? Did you?"

"No, and maybe that's why I can see him for who he really is, a loser who dumped the blame for his own failures on you and got you to believe it."

Rachel, seeking a distraction from the argument and remembering that it was Jack's birthday, handed him the present Chet had asked her to give him. It turned out to be a framed print of the picture Chet had insisted on her taking before they went out to eat. Jack pretended to admire it for Shawn's sake until the doctor came in and asked to speak to them.

By the look on the doctor's face, everyone knew it was bad news.

"We lost him, his heart just wasn't strong enough. I'm sorry boys."


	8. Chapter 8

Stacy Hunter hadn't particularly wanted to attend her father's funeral, truth be told she was glad he was dead, but Nebbie Lawrence said that Shawn was taking it hard, and she had always felt bad about leaving him to fend for himself with Chet. She recognized Shawn at the airport gate, even though he had ditched the Christian Slater haircut. He was standing next to a slightly older kid Stacy assumed was Jack.

"Stacy," Shawn extended a hand and walked towards her. He introduced Jack and they retrieved Stacy's luggage from the carousel.

Jack's car turned out to be an old Mustang convertible, and Shawn let Stacy ride shotgun.

"So where is Schneider?" Stacy asked.

"He's already at the trailer."

They drove to the trailer park and introduced Jack and Stacy to Schneider and Uncle Mike, who let them in to Chet's trailer.

The trailer was a mess. Schneider began going through a set of papers on a table. "Hey, his financial portfolio! Oh, my God! Do you know what this is?"

"What?" Shawn asked.

"His first unemployment stub! Dad always considered this his first honest money."

Jack picked up the folder and started going through bills. "Let's see here, 'past due, final notice, pay up, we're not kidding this time…man, this is going to get expensive."

Stacy called out from the bedroom. "Hey guys, look at this!"

She had pulled out a cardboard box from under the bed, labeled 'Stacy.' It contained every CD Stacy's band had put out, along with a series of clippings about her from music magazines.

Stacy looked up at Shawn. "Do you know why he saved this?"

"I had no idea he did."

"There's one for you here," she pulled out another box, labeled 'Shawn.'

Shawn opened it to find copies of his books and an issue of _Advertising Age_ with an article about him. There were cassette tapes, that, when he put them into the VCR, turned out to have commercials Shawn worked on. Underneath the cassette tapes were a series of letters that Chet had written, but apparently never sent, while he was looking for Virna. Most of them simply described his travels, but one was a full apology for everything.

Tears welling in his eyes, Shawn handed the letter to Jack.

"Here, you need to read this."


	9. Chapter 9

That night, Jack went over to Rachel's apartment as soon as he was sure Shawn was in bed.

"Hey, Rach?"

Rachel went over to the stereo and pressed pause on her Goo Goo Dolls CD. "How's he holding up?"

"I'd be less worried if he were crying, or he'd tried to punch me, or he was playing Nirvana at full volume or something, but he just…sits there."

Jack sat down on the couch, and Rachel put her arm around him.

"How are you holding up?"

"I dunno, I guess I'm the lucky one. I didn't have to go through all the pain. I just didn't even know him."

"Maybe not like Shawn did, but you still went through a lot."

"I mean, the son of a bitch couldn't even _die_ without hurting him. But he, he had this box, with each of our names on it. Mine had a clipping from my high school newspaper when I went to the national science fair. I don't even know how he got it. You know, it's, um It's just that I'm trying real hard not to get in the way of Shawn's grief. I've always thought of Chet as this monster and none of his interactions with me did anything to disprove it, but now there was this whole other side of him that only Shawn could see. I'll just, I'll never know my real dad."

"I know, Jack, but you just can't keep this inside."

"Yes, I can."

Jack started crying, and Rachel wrapped her arms around him. "It's okay, it's okay."


	10. Chapter 10

Cory was mildly apprehensive about the funeral. He had managed to ensure that it would be well-attended, but that meant a crowd of people would be listening to Shawn's eulogy. It didn't help that a good chunk of them were Shawn's college friends and work colleagues, most of whom had never met Chet and only knew of him through Shawn's minimally informative descriptions when he needed to explain a sudden absence.

Cory relaxed when Shawn actually started speaking. The eulogy described a man Cory had never met, and who he expected had always existed mainly in Shawn's head. He told fantastic bedtime stories, taught Shawn the rules of football and snuck him into Springsteen concerts, and was always there to lend a sympathetic ear to Shawn's problems. By the time he finished Cory was crying, although he didn't quite know why.

Shawn went over to Cory and Topanga after the interment.

"Thanks for coming, you guys."

Cory scrambled to think of something to say "I, um, I know he was proud of you."

Shawn's eyes began welling up, and he looked at the ground. Cory hugged him, and held him as his body, which was disturbingly skinny, heaved with sobs. He recovered his composure and made small talk with the people he needed to from work, and then Jack drove him home.

Cory went home to change and then drove over to the apartment. He found Stacy sitting in the living room with a bottle of Smirnoff.

"Where's Shawn?" Cory asked.

"Oh, they gotta take care of some bills. Turns out the old man left us with all his debts."

Cory sat down across from Stacy. "What was Chet like when you lived with him."

Stacy laughed. "A fucking asshole."

"I mean, from the way Shawn talks, he was, I dunno…"

"Nice?" Stacy took another swig from the bottle. "He could be nice, sometimes. When he was sober or just the right amount of drunk. It was mainly so you'd be nice to him. Shawn was the only one of the four of us that never figured it out. Me 'n Eddie I mean. I dunno about Jack."

"Jack figured it out pretty quick."

"Smart kid. Guess that's why he never tried to get in touch with me."

"I don't think he knew about you. His mom never told him about Shawn."

"Yeah, I dunno what to tell you about Shawn."

"I guess I didn't think you did. I just, I dunno, it's just frustrating."

"I dunno either. He kept all my CDs."

"Shawn?"

"No, Dad. It's weird. I figured out when I was 8 that when he said he was proud of me, it was to get me not to go to the social workers, and then he comes back with this."

"Yeah, uh…I'll just come back when Shawn's around."


	11. Chapter 11

It had been a long time since Shawn was asked to see a teacher after class. He stepped into Professor Martin's office and closed the door behind him.

"I'm sorry to hear about your father."

"Thank you."

"You know most students would have taken a semester off."

"Uh-huh."

"And thinking back on our conversation two years ago, I suspect this has affected you more than it would most students."

 _Shit, she does remember._ Shawn thought. Aloud, he just said "That's funny, most people don't understand why I'm not glad to be rid of him."

"Most people aren't psychologists. And I've noticed you've been losing weight since the beginning of the semester."

"I've been busy at work."

"You know, it may seem like you can avoid your problems by distracting yourself at the office; but in the long run it isn't going to help any more than the alcohol did."

"I'm planning to take some time off over the summer;" Shawn explained, "go on a road trip. I might try to start writing again."

"You should take someone with you. Given your past, I'm a little worried about your safety. Your brother, or that friend of yours."

"Cory?"

"Yes."

"He's going to be busy; his mom's about to have another kid."

"When's the due date?"

"Late March."

"Well, tell him I said congratulations."

"Will do." Shawn walked out of Professor Martin's office and towards the dining hall. Even though he couldn't taste it, he forced himself to eat a plate of spaghetti.

Meanwhile, Dr. Martin was preparing for her next case. He walked in the door and closed it behind him.

"I just had a chat with your brother," she said as Jack settled into the chair.

"He came to you?"

"No, I asked him to stay behind after class. He's planning on going on a road trip. I would suggest that either you or Cory accompany him, to make sure he's safe."

"Uh-huh. Listen, I know you have that patient confidentiality thing, but if you thought he was in any immediate danger, you'd let me know right?"

"There's a formal protocol I have to follow. I alert the University Police Department and they issue an injunction forbidding him from being on campus, to make sure the university isn't legally liable for anything that happens. As the next of kin, you would have the option to seek civil commitment, but based on observing him in class, I think we're at least several months from having to worry about that. So, tell me about your father."


	12. Chapter 12

Morgan had called Topanga to pick her up from school, so she drove over to the elementary school. Morgan was waiting outside, and didn't look happy.

"How ya' doin?" Topanga asked.

Morgan groaned. "Mom forgot about cheerleading practice just like she forgot to buy the Valentines for me to hand out at school, which is why Bobby Porterfield thinks I don't like him, which is why he didn't invite me to his party tomorrow night."

"Ouch."

"It's like they keep forgetting I'm their daughter."

"Well, I'm sure they're pretty busy getting ready for the new baby."

"No, it didn't start with the baby. It's always been like that. When I was upset about Eloise Eichelburger, Cory came downstairs and everybody ignored me so they could focus on his issues for the next week. They missed parents' night in third grade because they were busy trying to find Eric an apartment, and then _Shawn_ had another crisis."

"I know how you feel."

"But you only have one sister, and she's so much older than you."

"I do, but my parents….sometimes it seems like they get distracted with their own issues and don't have any time for me."

Topanga didn't tell Morgan this, but it had been a long time since her parents had any time for her…sixth grade maybe? By seventh grade she'd started drifting away, spending more time with her friends (especially Cory and Shawn) and slowly dropping most of the affectations she'd picked up at the bookstore. By high school she was actively avoiding her house and the atmosphere of repressed hostility that surrounded it. Her parents had barely batted an eye when announced that she wanted to go back to Philadelphia instead of moving to Pittsburgh; in fact they'd positively begged Aunt Prudence to take her in. Topanga told herself it was because they know it was better for her that way.

"Morgan, your parents are very caring people. I know there have been times where it seemed like they were distracted by Shawn and me, but it was because they knew we both needed someone to be there for us. When you need somebody to be there for you they'll do the same thing."

Morgan sighed. "I guess you're right."


	13. Chapter 13

Cory was inexplicably irritated that his mother's baby shower impinged on his Valentine's Day plans, so Shawn and Eric had arranged a poker night for the guys. Personally, Shawn would have been glad for the excuse to avoid Valentine's Day, but it was a moot point since he hadn't been on a date since before Christmas.

Eric had noticed that Mr. Feeny was in an unusually chipper mood. "You're making me feel weird, George."

"You look spiffy."

"Oh, just keep it up."

"I'm sorry, I don't know what's come over me. I woke up smiling, humming little tunes..."

Jack grinned. "You're in love."

"No, that emotion, I haven't been, uh, familiar with for so long that I couldn't possibly…"

"With who?" Eric asked excitedly "Is it Feeny and the dean? That's why she won't go out with me!"

Alan came to Feeny's rescue. "Alright, alright. You've had your fun, now let's start the game."

They sat down and played until the phone rang. Jack answered and then handed the receiver to Alan.

"Topanga wants to talk to you."

Alan took the receiver. "Uh-huh, uh-huh, yeah. We'll be right over." He hung up the phone and went to get his coat. "Let's go!"

"What?" Eric asked.

"Baby time!"

Shawn stood up. "Mr. Matthews."

"What?"

Shawn tossed Alan his keys. "Take my car."

By the time they got to the hospital, Amy was already being prepped for an emergency c-section. The doctors let Alan go in to see her while the rest of the group stayed in the waiting room. Jack sat down next to Shawn.

"You think we should head on back?"

"Nah, let's wait a while and make sure everything's ok."

"I'm sure it'll be fine. The baby's just a couple of weeks early."

"Six."

"Huh?"

"The baby's six weeks early. It was due at the end of March."

"Oh."

Shawn looked at his watch. It was 5:00. "I guess we're going to need to eat at some point." He felt around in his pockets. "Shit, Mr. Matthews still has my car keys."

"I'll go get something in an hour or two."

They made forced conversation with Cory for the next two hours, and then Jack took everyone's WaWa order. He came back a few minutes later and handed out sandwiches.

"So," Jack sat down next to Rachel and began opening his sandwich, "I guess this isn't exactly the most romantic Valentine's Day you've ever had."

"No, but it'll definitely make the best story."

They were interrupted by Alan Matthews, who came into the waiting room wearing surgical scrubs and carrying a rosary in one hand.

Eric stood up. "Where's the baby?"

"Uh I only got to hold him for a second. Uh He's not breathing on his own. They've got him on a respirator. And, uh They, uh They don't know if…He's just so small, so helpless. Uh, I don't know how I'm going to tell your mother. I can't decide between Joshua or Daniel."

Two of the doctors came out a few minutes later. One of them Cory recognized as his mother's obstetrician, Dr. Taylor. She went over to speak to Mr. Matthews.

"Alan, I want you to meet Charlie Markman. He'll be taking over your child's case."

"Is the baby going to die?" Eric blurted out.

"No," Mr. Matthews reassured him.

"I'm not sure," Dr. Markman responded, "He has a respiratory infection because the early loss of amniotic fluid compromised his sterile environment. We're going to administer a course of antibiotics over the next 10 days."

"And then we can take him home?"

"And then we'll see where we are. You can go in back and see him if you'd like."

Cory, Eric, Shawn, and Topanga got up and followed Alan out of the waiting room. The nurse stopped Shawn and Topanga. "Family only."

"They are family," Alan said, and the nurse relented.

Jack stood up. "Let's see if we can find a chaplain." They followed signs to the chaplain's office, where a rabbi was sitting at a desk. His nameplate said Rabbi Jacobs.

"You got a priest back there somewhere?" Jack asked

"You're Catholic?"

"It's not for me. It's a, uh, family friend. His wife had her baby prematurely, and it doesn't sound like the kid's doing too great."

"Ah, come with me."

Jack and Rachel followed the rabbi towards the NICU.

"So how exactly do you know the family?" Rabbi Jacobs asked.

"It's kind of a long story. You see I have a brother, or half-brother, and I didn't know about him until I was in college because my Mom left our Dad because he was abusive, and she wanted to protect me. So Shawn's mom didn't protect him and he got…it was bad." Jack heard his voice start to quaver and Rachel reached out to hold his hand.

"Oh."

"But Mr. Matthews sort of looked out for him and there were a few times where he really saved him from a bad outcome."

"Mr. Matthews is the father?"

"Yes. And, our father died about a month ago, and Shawn's really broken up about it. I don't think he'll be able to handle it if they lose this baby."

"I see."

Jack stopped and turned to face the rabbi. "I don't understand why God let this happen to them; they're such good people."

"I don't either, but I know that he will strengthen and comfort them."

They reached the NICU, where Cory was talking to the baby. "Hi, Josh. I'm Cory. You have to get better, okay? I always wanted a little brother. This is Topanga. She's going to be your sister, and Shawn here is going to be your brother."

Jack quietly slipped out of the room.


	14. Chapter 14

Topanga had been deputized to help her dad move out over Spring Break. She couldn't exactly say she had better plans, since Cory was preoccupied with Shawn and the new baby, and Rhiannon was visiting Nebbie in San Francisco.

The conversation was excruciatingly awkward, with Jed focusing on Cory to avoid the elephant in the room. Finally, he asked about Shawn.

Topanga sighed. "Honestly, he's not doing too great. I don't think he ever saw his father for who he really was." She paused to consider her options before deciding to go for it. "I guess that's one problem I won't be having."

"Topanga, you need to understand that your mother and I just…fell out of love."

"You could have told her instead of going behind her back. Didn't you always tell me that when you aren't true to yourself the Earth cries?"

"I am being true to myself. The truth is that I love Chloe."

"How many were there before Chloe?"

Jed said nothing.

"Why did you lie to us? If you had come to me three years ago and said that you and Rhiannon were divorcing I would have been upset about it, but I would have gotten over it."

"It's…hard to explain, Topanga."

"No it isn't; you just don't want to admit it."


	15. Chapter 15

Jack had noticed that Shawn was drinking more than he was comfortable with, but it didn't seem to be affecting his work or studies, and Shawn brushed Jack off every time he brought it up. Nevertheless, he had taken to waiting for Shawn to get in at night.

One Friday night towards the end of the semester, Shawn came home obviously drunk and muttering to himself.

"I'm an orphan. I'm an old orphan. My childhood is over. And I never had any parents. Oh, God! Stop whining! I…I…I…I hate you."

Jack stood up and walked over to Shawn. "Hey, buddy. It's ok, it's ok. You just had a little too much to drink."

"No, I'm a screw-up."

"You're not a screw-up, you're just a little screwed up right now. Let's get you into bed." Jack helped Shawn into his pajamas and pulled the comforter over him. He sat down by the bed and waited until he could hear Shawn's snoring.

The next morning Jack woke up early, ran out to buy some flowers and made bacon, eggs, and extremely strong coffee. Shawn stumbled into the living room, clearly hungover.

"Eat up, you've got a big day ahead of you."

"Oh, fuck. That party."

"Yeah, and I thought we'd go over to the cemetery."

"Since when did you want to go to the cemetery?"

"I think maybe there was a side to your dad…our dad that I didn't see."

"Yeah, I guess you're right about that."

The breakfast seemed to cure Shawn's hangover, and they drove Jack's car over to the cemetery. Shawn said nothing during the drive, and for the first few minutes they were there stared wordlessly at the tombstone as though he were communing with Chet's ghost.

Jack finally broke the silence. "So this road trip you're planning, think there'd be room for me?"

"Did Professor Martin get in touch with you."

"Actually, I got in touch with her. And you were talking to yourself last night."

"I was?"

"You were being pretty hard on yourself. You know, I never really got to know Dad, but I know he was proud of you, and I'm pretty sure he wouldn't want you to hate yourself."

"You don't know…some of the things he said when he was drunk…I guess I am just like him."

"No, you're not. You may have inherited some of his tendencies, but you fight back against them. I think at some point, he just gave up."

"Yeah."

They ended up talking for several hours before driving back to get ready for Alan Matthews' birthday party.

"So what'd you get him?" Jack asked.

"It's dumb, he's probably going to hate me for it."

"Oh, come on, it can't be that bad."

"I was stoned when I bought it."

"Well, we don't have time to get anything else."

Shawn looked at his watch. "Good point."

The party was already in full swing by the time they got there.

"How'd the surprise go?" Shawn asked Eric.

"Great, I acted like I was planning a secret surprise party for tomorrow!"

"Good man. Um, where are we leaving presents?"

"He already opened them." Eric took the wrapped present from Shawn. "Hey, Dad! There's another present for you!"

Shawn looked around nervously as Mr. Matthews began unwrapping the present. There were a lot of people at the party: not just the Matthews and their neighbors, but the guy who worked for Mr. Matthews at the camping store, and worst of all, people who went to church with the Matthews. Shawn realized he had to say something as Alan began unwrapping the present, a set of ceramic handprints.

"I know it's a dumb gift, I just couldn't think of any…"

Alan looked up at Shawn. "Thank you, Shawn. I'll keep this for the rest of my life."

"Thanks, Alan."

Shawn was so relieved not to have made an ass of himself that he didn't notice people starting to leave the party until it was down to the Matthews and him and Jack.

"Shawn, we've been thinking," Amy started.

"And we want you to be a member of this family," Alan continued.

"You need a mom? I'm a really good mom. I got references."

"Yeah, she's really good," Eric interjected, "she's the best I ever had."

"You want to…do you want to adopt me?"

"Oh, Shawn, you have always been a part of our family. How about we make it official?"

"Wow, thank you guys so much, but…I just. I can't be a Matthews," Shawn put an arm around Jack, "I feel like there's too much repair work I've gotta do on the Hunter clan."

"I understand. The invitation is always on the table."


End file.
